Meaning & use
wear the pants
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiom
To be the person in a household or relationship who makes the important decisions and has control.
Grammar: Often used with who: who wears the pants in your house?
Patterns
- who wears the pants
- wear the pants in a relationship
Everyone knows that my grandmother wears the pants in our family.
In their business, the CEO wears the pants, but she listens to her team.
They joke about who wears the pants at home.
Word forms
| third person singular | wears the pants |
|---|---|
| past tense | wore the pants |
| past participle | worn the pants |
| -ing form | wearing the pants |
Common combinations
- wear the pants in the relationship
- She clearly wears the pants in the relationship.
- who wears the pants
- Who wears the pants in your house?
- wear the pants in the family
- My mother wears the pants in the family.
- actually wear the pants
- The manager says he is in charge, but his deputy actually wears the pants.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wear the trousers
- This is the British version of the idiom and means exactly the same.
- call the shots
- This is gender-neutral and can describe control in any group, not only a couple or a family.
- rule the roost
- This stresses being the dominant figure in a home or group, and it sounds a little more playful.
- be in charge
- This is plain and neutral and lacks the humorous domestic image.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: wear the pants or wear pants?
wear the pants vs wear pants
Literal wear pants means to dress in trousers; the idiom wear the pants, with the, means to be in control.
Practice
In their household, Maria clearly _____, because she makes every big decision.
Choose one answer.
Wear the pants means to be the dominant decision maker. The other options are literal or not idiomatic.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wear the pants”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.